The Past Never Dies
by Amarok Walker
Summary: Prince Link is soon to become the King of Hyrule but when mysterious beings get in the way of his coronation and leave him in the care of a rather audacious girl, he will soon realize that his family history & his guardian all play a part in a scheme that all began the minute he was born.
1. Chapter 1

Hyrule was a large kingdom. A kingdom so vast that even a bird's eye view would only encompass a small vision of the country's entire structure. It was a kingdom so vibrant that it was as if there was a simmering fire burning in its very structure. Lush hills spread across the fields of Hyrule, the core of Death Mountain rumbled, the rivers of the Zora Empire trickled into the pristine lake of Hylia, the dunes of the Gerudo desert carried whispered messages through the wind, and the forests bounced with energy as many had claimed the forest children known as the "Kokiri" played their instruments as a sign of content and harmony in these peaceful times.

Hyrule Field which formed the epicenter of the geological landscape of the country boasted a lush green field of grass. The meadow would entirely be empty if it were not for the path for merchants to follow to sell their wares to the Hyrule capital. In addition, Hyrule Field's sole inhabitants of the entire landscape were the family owning the Lon Lon Ranch not far from the busy town. A father and daughter of this business were proud to be known as Hyrule's greatest and only milk distributor throughout the region. Known as Talon and Malon respectively, parent and child worked together to make the best milk profitable and were guests of the monarchy who governed Hyrule as a whole.

However, the very jewel of the kingdom of Hyrule was its Castle centered in the capital of Hyrule Castletown. Here within its walls, trades were made and goods sold, allowing the country's economy to prosper greatly. Its most important inhabitant of Hyrule Castle: Prince Link.

A young man sat kneeling at an altar, his thin bottle green robe barely shielding his aching knees. His neck cried from its stiff, hanging position. Even with the pain, he continued praying. He had done this so many times before that his mind no longer focused on what was here but what was _there_. His eyes were closed as his palms clasped against one another. His golden blonde hair swayed back and forth across his sweat-slick forehead but alas he ignored it. This young man was barely eighteen years of age. Just two nights ago, a party was celebrated in his castle to celebrate his eighteenth year and though he was in the company of friends, he longed to be in this temple in which he prayed in now to _speak_. He had been in this very temple since that day after the celebration ended.

"It is good to know that you are not harmed, my Prince. But you should know better not to leave yourself so exposed to the world."

The Prince did not move nor did he seem to hear this old man's words. The Prince continued to pray in fact as the old man stood by the heavy temple door waiting for his charge to finish his prayer. A few minutes passed, and finally the Prince stood as he made the sign of the Triforce. His head was still hung low as if he was staring at the ground before him in thought. The young Prince looked up as he stared at the three feminine statues that hung above him. Each figure depicted the Holy Trio, The Three Goddesses responsible for creating Hyrule. On top stood Din, the Goddess of Power; to her right stood Nayru, the Goddess of Wisdom; and to her left stood the Goddess of Courage, Farore. The Prince's blue eyes focused on the Holy Trio, as if scanning for an answer within each chiseled, marble feature.

The Prince finally turned to the elderly man clad in the orange robe. The older man's kind light blue eyes stared back at his charge's darker grey blues. Neither had spoken a word. They both knew what the other was here for.

"Prince Link," the older man sighed "You must come back to the Castle, you are expected there."

"Teacher Rauru, what seems to be the matter?" the young Prince asked with a hint of worry in his tone

"Fear not, Link, there is nothing wrong." Rauru assured him, his bushy eyebrows furrowed together as he noticed no change in his charge's behavior "Is there something wrong that you wish to tell me?"

Link's lip thinned at the question. He turned away at Rauru's questioning brow.

"Prince Link, I assure you that whatever you need to tell, I will listen." Rauru pleaded

Link sighed loudly as he realized how crazy he would sound if he told Rauru of what he saw. Even if he said nothing now, Rauru would surely hound him with more questions later on. With a lump in his throat, Link bravely turned around to his silent, questioning guardian. Before speaking, Link tried to focus his attention on something that would not revolve around how crazy he would sound in the next few minutes. It was utterly pointless when he realized that no one was watching, only his most trusted and only guardian.

"I've had a dream…" Link began, his whispers danced lightly across the Temple's walls, "Hyrule is in danger."


	2. Chapter 2

"Put this on." Rauru commanded as they stepped out of the Temple of Time, Rauru gave a red cloak to the young prince who hastily put it over his body before taking the gauntlet that Rauru held in his left hand

"Thank you, Teacher." Link said as he finally pulled the last string on the first gauntlet, effectively hiding his hideous scar

"You're welcome, dear Prince. Just remember, while you're always welcome to enter the Temple, you must not forget of your own safety."

The Prince scoffed at that "Yeah, like I'm going to ever be safe with my heritage looming over my head."

Rauru shook his head solemnly "Prince Link, you must not be ashamed of the circumstances of your birth. It was fate-"

"It was fate that I was going to be born a bastard the moment my mother birthed me from the womb." The Prince finished for the Priest, not bothering to hide the disdain in his tone as his thoughts dwelt on those details, he never liked to talk about it but Rauru was the only person who was allowed to see his pain even if he could not understand it

"Do not think of your mother's choice as an unwise decision, Prince Link. She had and always loved you."

"That's the problem, Rauru." Link said sardonically "My birth was the mistake." He said so softly but yet spoke great magnitude in the spacious temple

Rauru couldn't help but sigh solemnly of his charge's behavior, ever since that fateful day, he had promised to the mother that he would raise the young boy as if he were his own but even the most even-tempered sage had clashes with the young adult's mannerisms

"Go forth, your highness, we will discuss more of this matter but for now leave, before the magic wears off." Rauru told his charge as he noticed the sun setting before the horizon

At this, Link panicked. No one could know where he was especially in this _state_. He needed to be back before anyone came to him questioning of his behavior or of his state of appearance. Before he left however, he turned back to his guardian "Thank you Teacher Rauru." He said softly, though not unkindly

With that he sped off as dusk turned into night.

…

As morning arose, Prince Link stretched out of bed and into his bathroom. Having to sneak back into his castle was no problem when one had spent their whole lives navigating the hidden passageways within the castle. He had done so since he was just a lad. Even when his other guardian began accompanying him into the Castletown Market, he made it a point to check on the well-being of his people. No way was he going to order for more troops to stand guard outside of his castle when he was already relishing in the few freedoms he had as being sole monarch to the kingdom. It was his only way of showing defiance.

As he made his way into the bathroom, he was caught by surprise by the steam clouding the room around him, almost to the point he could barely make the outlines of the tub. He sighed. This wasn't a sauna, he had no time to rest when he had a country to run, nevertheless, he allowed himself some comfort as he let himself bask in the hot water before it began to irritate his skin.

When the room finally cleared enough of him to see ten feet around him, he couldn't help but eye the mirror before him, with a wave of a hand, he moved it effortlessly towards him. As the mirror stopped just a few centimeters shy of the tub, his fingers slowly moved up his hair searching for a particular lock. He had done many times before that he memorized where the location of that particular piece of hair was and wasn't too long before he finally he found it, a bronze lock that stood out immediately among its yellow brothers, a sore thumb in the vast plain of sunny golden hair. It was only a matter of time before that color spread to the rest of his golden tresses and given away his true status. He immediately hid it within the mass of his yellow hair, determined that no one would see such a feature on the Hylian Prince (as _much_ as a Hylian as he could be).

What worried him more was not the color of his hair as it could be so easily explained why he changed the color of his hair from a simple magic accident or going incognito into the heart of Castletown Market to disguise himself among the commoners but everyone would be having questions as to why his eyes appeared the way it appeared to him now: a putrid yellow that shamed the handsome, regal appearance that he often carried. It was a feature he loathed most ever since he saw that color before him in the mirror. It just plainly scared him, it wouldn't be too far-fetched to say that he intimidated the few children that had come and visit the castle with nothing better to do but play with their peers. Of course, the children were told to never speak of the Prince in such a manner, but even he knew that the children were not lying that he resembled more of a serpent than an actual Goddesses' blessed race of Hylians. His lithe agile form was part of the reason for the resemblance. That and he somehow had immunity to the harsh sun in the summer months compared to the others in the castle but in the winter months, he often ran a cold that would leave him bedridden and often carrying a warm blanket when he went to meetings. It was embarrassing but the truth was even more _degrading_. The scowl on his face, after noticing his appearance, was still etched on his countenance even as he left the room. These only served as a permanent reminder of what he could never achieve if everyone were to find of his true heritage.

After clandestinely entering his study and speaking to Rauru as he always did just as the sun's edge peeked on the horizon, he made his way into the council room where all the nobles that made up his council and occasionally leaders from the other domains sat together to discuss important issues that had been arising as of late. Today, only the noblemen were waiting for him.

"I must say that while your cause of educating the public by making school attendance mandatory is noble, Prince Link, I'm afraid that would mean millions of Rupees are being spent unnecessarily when they could be used to fund the military force." One nobleman spoke up who had experience working with the military…as a paper-pusher

"I must agree with my colleague Your Highness, we have been getting reports of more food raids from the outside traders and merchants. Your Highness, I implore you to see reason but I believe it is best if you delay your initiative until the matter is resolved."

The Prince did his best to maintain his composure and while he did see their side of the coin, they had failed to account that this cause would have tangible results in the future. Sure they may be paying for it now, but it was for the welfare of the people, and in time, they could create marvelous things if everyone had a chance at having a fair start. In addition it would stave off the increasing crime rate. He knew why, though, the children didn't have enough to eat and would often resort to stealing to feed themselves and their families since they lacked the "scholarly" skills that noble children were often entitled to.

"Your highness, what do you think?" said the lead council member, an older man with grizzled hair and a husky voice as the last council member finished speaking

Link took his time in formulating his opinion, wondering how he should phrase his argument; he finally spoke after a moment's deliberation "While you are right that something needs to be done with the rising number of raids, I do not believe that these food raids were caused by professional thieves but by the works of starving children." He said, disagreeing with the first councilman's statement that experienced bandits had done the (rather poor) job of stealing meager scraps of food, especially when he noticed the reports entailed that "small handprints were found on the fruit crates" after having passed the Lost Woods (also, he knew of a certain group of children that lived in those forests)

"Aye, your highness, you're correct that this is only child's play," spoke a younger, auburn-haired nobleman whom Link believed to be a wealthy business man known by no other title besides the 'Masked Salesman' or similar name spoke up, who was always quick to strike down the Prince's defense "However I saw with my own eyes of what _professionals_ are capable of."

Everyone was stunned into a deathly silence at the Salesman's proclamation, the Prince made no emotion appear across his face but even he was thoroughly surprised at his words, Sir Grima (Link believed to be his name), was an unusual character in the first place in that his face was contorted into a smile that made children quake in fear and adults uncomfortable within his presence. How he was chosen for this position was beyond him. "Go on." Link pushed, curious as to what the young nobleman had to say.

"Thank you, your highness." His haughty tone belying his humble gesture "While I was traveling beyond Hyrule's borders, understand Your Highness, I am in the business of selling masks so please understand that my intentions to travel west were purely a business venture. While I was there in a tavern near the borders of the Great Desert, a small group of caravans had set out towards our western neighbors, the Calatians, for a summer-long sojourn. Unfortunately, because the Gerudo desert is the only direct path to the country and they had only enough supplies to last them through the two-week trek in the desert, they had set off earlier than the other travelers who were making the same venture. I myself had to join with the group due to my own set of dwindling supplies. For three days we traveled, tired, sore, thirsty, and sweltering in the God-awful sun. By the sixth day, we were forced to go back and regather our bearings for we had lost our way and the map we had was no longer relevant to the landscape. One day, while we were taking a little respite from the sun's rays, we saw figures in the distance" Sir Grima pointed ahead of him to elaborate his tale "When they got closer, we all believed we were saved and that we would not perish in the unforgiving desert but alas our luck was not forthcoming." He paused, allowing a stillness to hang in the air as he prolonged the silence, engaging everyone's interest in his story "We were captured by the Gerudo thieves and taken back to their Fortress. Granted, while we were spared from being killed, we lost all the supplies we had left, the horses, the food, and our meager supply of water was gone. They tied us up and we marched to their stronghold where I and two men were left as the only survivors on that trek...Everyone else had perished from starvation, sickness, but most of all, thirst. When us three had made it, we were branded as trespassers and marked for our crimes." Slowly, Sir Grima stood up as a grim expression took over his features. He lifted up his left hand and there printed on the back of his hand was the mark that he had mentioned...a serpent. Link's hand slowly descended under the table.

"Sir Grima," Prince Link interrupted him as he bit his tongue from saying something that he would surely regret "While I do express my sympathies for going through such an encounter, you have no right to enter the Gerudo lands while we are in the middle of negotiations. I even expressly forbid that not one of my citizens especially one of my high-ranking council members enter their land until we have come to an agreement."

"Ah, but your Highness, you did not allow me to finish my story. The only reason I escaped was that the rogue group of Gerudo women who captured us were actually fugitives to the rest of the tribe. Several days after my capture, their compound had been founded and I was sent to their main village to recover from my incident." He gave a slight smile "Understand, the desert is a vastly different place from Hyrule. They're two hundred miles from the nearest town. While I was there, I took note of their… _regressive_ way of living; it is blasphemy the way they live. I believe by combining our forces we could teach these backwards people how to live like us. Let us not only make a treaty of peace but one in which we can also ally with them so that they can understand our customs. I know this sounds a strange offer considering my story but I assure you, Your Highness, I do not seek revenge but I seek for the benefit of the people."

The Prince looked at the noble mutely while keeping a stoic face. To an outsider, the nobleman's intentions seemed reasonable but the Prince felt that there was something wrong in the man's voice when he spoke. While his words said one thing, his tone gave off a different message. It was as if there was something this man was hiding, as if he wore an invisible mask that cloaked his forked tongue.

Link looked at the rest of the nobles around him. To his shock, he realized that all of them were staring at him. Ever since he was young, he was trained that disunity among the people was especially dangerous for the royal family and if matters were not to be resolved quickly these matters would turn on him. Not only that, but the Prince felt self-conscious in being stared at in such a way. It was as if they were searching the truth within him and the longer they stared, the more they _suspected_.

After a moment of petrifying silence, the Prince cleared his throat "Thank you Sir Grima for your insight on this matter." He coughed, trying to break the rest of the noble men's tight glances on him "I'll speak with the two sister leaders of the Gerudo tribe and discuss possible plans of an alliance."

Sir Grima gave him a Cheshire cat grin. "No need to thank me Your Highness. It is my duty to serve for the country of Hyrule and of course the Royal Family." He nodded his head towards the Prince. "I'll do what is necessary for my country."

Link gulped and bowed his head slightly towards the nobleman, feeling a strange knot twist in his stomach.

"There is also another matter we would like to bring up with you, Your Highness." An elder nobleman spoke this time, fixing his bifocals towards the young man in question

The Prince jerked his head in the direction of the man's voice, feeling slightly nauseated. "What would that be Sir Potho?" A hint of nervousness that the Prince failed to hide in his question

The elder nobleman did not seem to realize the Prince's paling face or the subtle clenching of his fist as he spoke the following words "My Dear Prince, you are at the age in which you are eligible as a candidate in marriage. There is no better time than now to fulfill the customs of your royal line. You must choose before your nineteenth year for a woman who will stand beside you for the rest of your days."


End file.
